LadySports ::: ROXX ROLLS ON ...

ROXX ROLLS ON

by Shiai Mata

There's a reason why promoters add 'Subject to Change' at the bottom of their show posters. The best laid plans of mice and bookers can come undone without a moment's warning. Such was the case with the PGWA's recent Tennessee events...'Nashville Bash' and 'Columbia Clash'.

Originally, it had been planned that Nikki Roxx would defend her PGWA Championship Friday night in Nashville against Passion; win or lose, the two were scheduled to face one another again on Saturday in Columbia.

Passion and Nikki had both trained strenuously, both had concocted strategies specifically designed to employ against the other, and both had geared themselves up mentally for their battles.

But on Friday afternoon, Passion called to say that due to a family health emergency, she was instead rushing down to Louisiana to tend to a critically ill relative, rather than heading to Tennessee to face the Champ. She apologized profusely, but there was no need, we assured her, for her to feel any regret...obviously, taking care of family is far more important than working a wrestling card. There would be other matches in the future, after all.

But now the PGWA did not have a contender to fight for the title. Commissioner Penny Banner decided that Nikki herself should have the say as in who Passion's replacement(s) should be, and suffice to say, the Champ had some definite ideas on the matter.

Now, Roxx could have taken the easy route; she could have simply declined to put the belt on the line against anyone, and coasted through both nights with a couple of non-title bouts. Win or lose, she still would have kept her gold. Or, failing that, she perhaps could have insisted that she face a relative newcomer such as Brittany Love or the Baroness Simone...opponents she would have the edge over.

But Nikki Roxx hasn't gotten as far as she has in the sport by taking easy routes.

There were two particular women making their PGWA debuts that weekend, both of them possessing hard-earned reputations as outstanding wrestlers: Mickie Knuckles and MsChif. Roxx knew them by reputation, and knew that both fighters were championship caliber. Indeed, both had held gold in other organizations.

Both would give Nikki terrific challenges...an idea which she seemed to crave. And so, she requested title matches against both women.

Mickie and MsChif would test Roxx in different ways. Friday's match, against Knuckles, would be a contest between two highly skilled grapplers. Nikki doesn't often get to flex her mat skills as much as she would like, but when she does, she exhibit's an uncommon ability. But if there's any woman in the sport who could take the blond to the wall in such a match, it's Mickie Knuckles! And the two women did not disappoint, subjecting one another to a plethora of technical mat maneuvers, from Front Facelocks and Surfboards to STF's and Drop Toeholds. Mickie mightily impresses the crowd by putting the Champ in serious trouble multiple times, but it's Roxx who scores the victory with her now-famous finisher, dubbed (suitably enough) 'The Finish'...a Reverse Hammerlock, a hoist into the air, and then bringing her opponent down for an Inverted Atomic Drop. Mickie Knuckles joins the ranks of wrestlers who don't get up from that one anytime soon. But the respect which the two competitors have generated for one another is signified by the handshake between them, a symbol of the outstanding contest which they had just endured.

Later that night, Nikki returned to the ring, this time to team up with Susan Morton against the duo of Brittany Love and Peggy Lee Leather in tag team action. It proves to be a wild brawl, as Peggy Lee and Brittany deftly bend the rules to suit their wishes throughout. Surprisingly, in spite of the rulebreaking, Peggy Lee manages to cleanly pin Roxx to win the bout...and in the locker room immediately after, she demands her own title match!

Keep in mind that Nikki has just fought two tough matches that night, and she was due for a third battle the following evening. Yet, never one to run from a challenge, she agreed that Peggy Lee's pin earned her a shot. And, a proponent of the Sooner Rather than Later School, Roxx offered to face the veteran in a GrudgeMatch the very next morning!

Trained by the Fabulous Moolah and Leilani Kai, Peggy Lee Leather has spent the last quarter-century or so tearing up rings and doing great bodily harm to many an opponent. If she hasn't held as many title belts as she deserves, it's mostly because a great many 'champions' have steadfastly avoided ever finding themselves staring at the Georgian across the ring with gold on the line. To those who appreciate Peggy Lee's finesse as a brawler, she did not disappoint in this match...nor did Nikki, who proved that despite giving up some serious size to her opponent, she could more than go toe-to-toe with the veteran! And, perhaps defying the odds, Nikki emerged as the winner, and chalked up a 'W' over one of the most respected women in the sport!

She could be forgiven for wanting nothing more than to spend the rest of the day in a hot tub, soaking away the aches of the previous 18 hours. But she had another match ahead of her, with a hundred miles' worth of driving there and back....

To Be Continued

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Nikki Roxx

Nikki Roxx

Nikki Roxx

Nikki Roxx

Nikki Roxx

Nikki Roxx

Nikki Roxx

Nikki Roxx

Nikki Roxx